World's most social airport? LAX

By Rob Lovitt, 

 

Quick, can you guess which of the world’s airports tops the charts for the most “check ins” on social media?
We’ll give you three hints:

@alecbaldwin (since deactivated)

@aplusk (as in the ex-Mr. Demi Moore)

More people prone to self-promotion per capita than perhaps any other city on the planet.
If you answered Los Angeles International Airport, give yourself a badge.
Facebook announced on Tuesday that more people check in via Facebook or a third-party location app while at LAX than at any other airport in the world.

“We are honored and excited for Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) being named the ‘Most Social Airport in the World’ by Facebook,” airport officials told msnbc.com via e-mail.

Rounding out the world's top 10 social airports are Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Sydney (Australia), Phoenix, Las Vegas and Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok, Thailand).
“Travel is inherently a social thing,” said Travis Katz, founder and CEO of the social-travel site Gogobot.com. “People check in at airports because they want to let people know they’re leaving home or landing somewhere new.”  Taxis from Heathrow London Airport Transfer service

That desire may also explain some of the report’s other findings. Last year, check ins were 20 times higher than average on Dec. 18 with additional spikes occurring on Dec. 23 and 24, presumably as people headed to the airport to catch holiday flights.
After Christmas, the chatter died down again before spiking between Dec. 29–31 in anticipation of New Year’s Eve.
Unfortunately, Facebook didn’t suggest why LAX was the most social airport, although one could be forgiven for thinking the city’s celebrity culture might play a role.

“Checking in is a self-serving sort of activity and L.A. is a hotbed of self-centeredness,” said Nick O’Neill, founder of Holler.com, a location-based mobile planning and search app. “Celebrities and people like that are all about broadcasting about their awesome lives.”
By that measure, he suggested, the No. 1 ranking may say less about LAX than it does about the city it’s in: “I wonder if there’s a correlation between the volume of plastic surgeries and the number of check ins for any given location.”

New device may allow planes to fly in ash cloud conditions

By Bianca Ffolkes

An in-flight device that can detect ash clouds is being tested by low-fare airline easyJet and is scheduled to arrive next summer if trials are successful.

The system, known as AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector), makes it possible for a pilot to see an ash cloud ahead at altitudes of 5,000 to 50,000ft

Developed by Dr Fred Prata of the Norwegian Institute For Air Research and funded by easyJet, AVOID is a small orange machine that checks the position and measure the density of ash clouds using an infra-red camera and satellite data.

Dr Prata told the Guardian: "It has two cameras that have been tuned to see the signature of silicates, which are the components that make up volcanic ash.

"They're able to see silicates up to 100km – maybe more – away if you're flying at 33,000ft, and that information can be relayed straight back to the pilot in the cockpit and he's able to see volcanic ash in the atmosphere ahead of the aircraft and manoeuvre around it."

The budget airline successfully tested the system on a microlight aircraft over a two-week period above the Mount Etna volcano in Sicily and said they hope to install the equipment on its fleet next year.

EasyJet’s Head of Engineering, Ian Davies, said: "The testing of the technology is an exciting next step in the journey to get AVOID on to easyJet aircraft which we hope to do by summer 2012."

This is a big step for the aviation industry, which has been trying to find a solution to flying in an ash cloud atmosphere since the eruption of Eyjafjallajökul in April 2010, and another volcano eruption in May of this year, resulted in travel chaos costing an estimated £1bn.

EasyJet said that after analysing the two recent Icelandic eruptions the majority of flight cancellations would have been prevented with AVOID technology

Around 10 million passengers were affected by the eruption in 2010 with more than 10,000 flights cancelled, largely because air space officials were forced to assume the ash was covering a vast area, the International Air Transport Association claims.

Easyjet said their research reveals that ash actually travels in 'clumps' and if you can detect where the ash is concentrated you can simply redirect plane routes around the area of concern.

The airline also claims that most of the airspace cancelled in 2010 would have been left open if the AVOID device had been available.

There are plans for AVOID to be tested again by EasyJet and plane-making company Airbus on large A340 planes from next year.

Dr Prata remains optimistic that the device will eventually be fitted onto commercial aircrafts. He said: "In the absence of proven technology thousands of flights were grounded. This large scale grounding of flights should not happen again, thanks to both satellite and airborne technology which can be used to accurately predict not only the dispersal of ash from volcanic eruption but also crucially the levels of concentration."

Thanksgiving travel up despite higher prices

By staff and wires contributor Rob Lovitt, Associated Press and Reuters

Millions of Americans have taken to the skies and roads for Thanksgiving this year despite higher gas prices and costlier airfares.

About 42.5 million people are expected to drive, fly or ride trains to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). That's the highest number since the start of the recession, showing that Americans are willing to travel to their families even while household budgets are tight.

"Sacrifice to see the ones you love, that's what we do," said John Mahoney, who was driving 20 hours with his girlfriend from his home in New Hampshire to visit his mother and sister in St. Louis. "Americans will still do what Americans do. We travel the roads."

Mahoney, 44, acknowledged the economy has changed the way he travels — which is why the couple slept in the car instead of getting a motel room when a heavy, wet snowstorm flared up along the New York State Thruway.

Despite the comeback in Thanksgiving travel, costs are up. This year:

• drivers are paying almost 20 percent more for gas, which has reached an average of $3.42 a gallon;
• the average round-trip airfare for the top 40 U.S. routes is $212, up 20 percent from last year. Earlier this month, Priceline.com said Thanksgiving fares averaged $407, up 6 percent from the already high fares of 2010;
• rail tickets on most one-way Amtrak trips have climbed 2 to 5 percent.

travel to Heathrow over thanksgiving

A wintry storm socked New England states with a mix of heavy snow and freezing rain on Wednesday, sparking power outages and delaying some flights for Thanksgiving on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Roughly 17,000 customers from Maine to New York were without electricity by midafternoon after heavy snow toppled trees, limbs and power lines in some places.

"High-impact winter storm will adversely affect holiday travel early this morning and into this afternoon," NWS said in a winter storm warning.Rain eased up in the Mid-Atlantic after downpours overnight, but as much as 10 inches of snow was forecast across the higher elevations of upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine by afternoon, when the storm was expected to end, the National Weather Service said.

"People should plan their travel accordingly and be prepared to allow plenty of extra time to reach their destination."

Airlines are cautioning passengers from New York to Philadelphia, Hartford and Boston, to expect significant delays on this busiest travel day of the year. LaGuardia Airport is urging travelers to arrive at least two hours before their scheduled departure time to allow for increased holiday traffic.

Among those staying home is Damian Buchwald of Buffalo, N.Y., who picked up a second job earlier this year. His new work schedule has helped pay the bills but leaves him without time to travel to Connecticut to spend the holiday with his wife's family.Higher food prices will affect the wallets of those who aren't traveling. A 16-pound turkey and all the trimmings will cost an average of $49.20, a 13 percent jump from last year, or about $5.73 more, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which says grocers have raised prices to keep pace with higher-priced commodities.

This year, the couple and their teenage son, Raven, will celebrate Thanksgiving at home with his mother, neighbors and friends in town. "When you can't travel and people can't travel to you, you gather your closest friends. And that way nobody has to pay an arm and a leg, and everyone can eat well," Buchwald said.

But having relatives over for dinner is becoming more expensive, too, and not everyone can afford to splurge on a feast.

In Pawtucket, R.I., Jackie Galinis was among those looking for help to put a proper meal on the table. She stopped at a community center this week seeking a donated food basket. But by the time she arrived, all 300 turkeys had been claimed.

So Galinis, an unemployed retail worker, will make do with what's in her apartment. "We'll have to eat whatever I've got, so I'm thinking chicken," she said.

Then her eyes lit up. "Actually, I think I've got red meat in the freezer, some corned beef. We could do a boiled dinner."

Americans are still taking to the skies but in smaller numbers. Earlier this month, the Airline Transport Association of America (ATA), the trade group for the U.S. airline industry, forecasted that 23.2 million people would fly over the 12-day period between Friday, Nov. 18, and Tuesday, Nov. 29. That represents a 2 percent decline from last year and a 12 percent drop from the peak of 26.2 million set in 2006.

“We’re projecting full flights this Thanksgiving despite a 2 percent decline year over year in the number of passengers traveling on U.S. airlines,” said John Heimlich, ATA’s chief economist.

The busiest days, says ATA, will be Sunday, Nov. 27 (2.3 million); Friday, Nov. 18 (2.2 million); and Monday, Nov. 28 (2.2 million). Not surprisingly, the least-busy day will be Thanksgiving, when 1.5 million people are expected to fly.

Amazing hotel transformations

By Laura Tait


Sometimes, when a once-spectacular hotel has lost its sparkle and a lick of paint simply won’t cut it, there are two options. Bulldoze it to the ground... or throw millions and millions of pounds at it to restore it to its former glory, and then some. Here are some hotels that took option B.

 Pancras Renaissance Hotel London

Widely considered an architectural gem when it opened in 1873, the railway hotel earned its reputation for crossing boundaries, with such features as water-driven lifts and… wait for it… a revolving door. To be fair, it was Britain’s first revolving door so it was impressive at the time. It needed more to stand out in modern times though - and £150 million later, the St Pancras Renaissance is jaw-dropping once more, with 245 rooms, two top restaurants, extensive meeting space and a luxury spa with swimming pool and barber’s shop.

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Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund
Shanghai, China

Shanghai's Bund, once known as the ‘Wall Street of Asia’, reopened last year after a £280 million two-year restoration, and as part of the project, its century-old hotel was restored to its former glory and officially re-opened in April, complete with a huge chandelier-and-balcony clad ballroom. It has six character-packed restaurants and bars, including the legendary Long Bar. Its 34-meter bar-top counter was once the longest bar in Asia in the 1910s, and has now been restored into almost exactly what it looked like a century ago. Taxis to Gatwick airport London

El Palace
Barcelona, Spain

After a two year-closure and £22 million restoration project, this historic central hotel, which was originally built in 1919, reopened in 2009 and it’s actually a little bit surprising the price tag was that 'small'. It’s Savoy-esque in its grand old-school glamour, with its sumptuous fabrics, gilt and rugs inspired by the 19th century, has a posh Mayan Luxury Spa and a Fitness Room, state-of-the-art sound-proofed rooms equipped with all the latest technology, and there’s a Michelin star restaurant to boot.

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Hotel President Wilson
Geneva, Switzerland

An impressive multi-million pound makeover, completed last year, turned this 5-star property into arguably the best hotel in Geneva – the entire complex screams luxury, from the top-notch leisure facilities and spa and the exclusive pool terrace overlooking the Lake Geneva and the Alps to the in-room Bang & Olufsen LCD screens. This sort of decadence doesn’t come cheap though – the hotel boasts the world’s most expensive suite, at a whopping 75,000 Swiss francs (£54,000). At that price you’d be tempted to steal the grand piano, never mind a bathrobe.

The Royal Hawaiian
Hawaii

The 1920s-built Royal Hawaiian reopened in 2009 after an $85 million (£52m) renovation transformed it from a dated pink hotel into a coral palace fit for royalty. Which is quite fitting, because the 14 acres of prime Waikiki beachfront land were originally used as a playground for King Kamehameha I after he conquered the island of Oahu, and Queen Kaahumanu's Summer Palace was previously located in what is now the hotel's Coconut Grove garden. The distinctive historic architecture seamlessly melds with modern design elements with a decidedly chic result.
Travel from London Heathrow Airport Taxi

Pera Palace Hotel

Istanbul, Turkey

When it first opened in 1892, the Pera was the Ottoman Empire's first luxury hotel, being the first building other than the sultan's palaces with hot running water and electric lights. Throughout the years it became a playground for aristocrats, writers and film stars, with guests including Winston Churchill, Alfred Hitchcock, The Queen and Greta Garbo. But it slipped into disrepair a few decades ago. A two-year restoration project turned its fortune around though, when it reopened in September last year. Complete, once again, with hot water and electric lights.

The Savoy
London

It took £220 million (they had predicted £100m) and three years (they first thought it would take only one), but anyone who has visited the Savoy since it reopened at the end of 2010 might argue it was worth it. Whilst it has undergone a complete tip-to-toe makeover - from the entrance hall and the bars to every single one of the 268 bedrooms and suites, it’s managed to retain the classic glamour of the 121-year-old hotel that made it such an iconic landmark as well the glamorous backdrop for many a lavish party. Hotel Transfer London Chauffeur

Hotels Around the world

Expensive hotel rooms around the world

By Rosalind Kent




For most of us, a hotel room is an expensive luxury - even in the less salubrious establishments a room can be pretty pricey! Although most of our budgets will be more suited to the Premier Inn than the Dorchester, it doesn’t mean we can’t have a little glance at how the other half lives, and marvel in the luxuries of some of the world’s most expensive hotels. London Airport Heathrow taxis

UAE

As you would expect, the Arabs have done it in style, and with the extravagance of cities like Dubai, it is no surprise that they sport some pretty ostentatious prices. One of the most iconic images of opulence is the Burj Al Arab, shaped like a sail in imitation of an Arabian vessel called a 'dhow'. For years now it has topped the charts as one of the world’s most luxurious hotels with its (self-proclaimed) 7*’s.

A Deluxe 2 bed-roomed suite can be booked for AED 11,976.00 (around £2,000), but that’s a bit of a bargain in this hotel! Prices were not available on the hotel online booking system for the most expensive room, the Presidential Suite, but are reputed to be around AED 94,000 (about £16,000) per night.

Its nearest Dubai competitor is the Armani Hotel and Spa, housed in the iconic shard-like tower that dominates the Dubai skyline. Originally called the Burj Dubai, it was renamed the Burj Khalifa after Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan baled Dubai out of its economic crisis with a spare US$10bn he happened to have lying around!

A night in the Armani Signature Suite will cost a mere AED 8,500 (around £1,500). The Armani Dubai Suite is a little more expensive at around AED 25,000 (around £4,200), but this is a bargain compared to the Burj Al Arab. Travelling from Heathrow Airport London

America

If you want to ‘do New York in style’ then book into the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons Hotel, where the nightly rate is around $35,000 (about £21,800). This nine-room suite has walls inlaid with mother of pearl, gold and platinum-woven fabrics, which is always important I think.

Perks include a butler, personal trainer, chauffeur and a library - because I’m sure that sitting quietly reading a book will be top of your list of priorities when visiting NYC!

For the ultimate in American excess you can do no better than the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa which sits on top of the Palms Casino Resort. It has a butler, king-sized rotating bed, Jacuzzi, spa room and sauna and is modelled on the playboy mansion, although you have to provide your own Bunnies.

It cost around US$10 million to build and costs US$40,000 (nearly £25,000) a night. Alternatively you could book the much more excitingly named Erotic Suite – expect mirrored ceilings - for a more affordable US$3,000 to US$4,000 (£1,800 - £2,500) a night. Pure class.

Europe

Topping the polls at a frankly unlikely US$65,000 (£40,500) a night price tag is the Royal Penthouse Suite in the President Wilson Hotel, Geneva.

It claims to be the largest and most luxurious hotel suite in the world and boasts maximum security for its guests, including bullet proof windows, giving an indication of the kinds of people who stay there.

Prices are hard to verify for this secretive hotel, and some reports say it is nearer the $35,000 (£21,800) mark, but either way it is annoying that for either of these prices breakfast is apparently not included!

For a more reasonable $31,000 (£19,300), you could stay at the Villa La Cupola Suite, Westin Excelsior Hotel in Rome, a lavishly decorated suite that boasts a butler, Jacuzzi, sauna and 8 screen cinema. (Do people really sit and watch films when in Rome?)

London

Things are a bit more reserved in London, but if you fancy splashing the cash a little closer to home, you could do worse than book into The Langham on Portland Place.

The most pricey room, the Infinity Suite, will cost around £6,000 per night. You get your own personal butler, no doubt serving up a lovely afternoon cream tea. If that’s not for you, then check into one of its ‘lesser’ suites for £1,550 per night.

The Lanesborough, on Hyde Park Corner, has a reputation as being the most expensive hotel in London, but the Royal Suite is reportedly ‘only’ £5,875 a night. Rates are only available upon request on the website, but the next most expensive room, the Buckingham Suite, is currently available for £2,700 a night if you want to slum it! London Chauffeur Hotel transfer Airport

Armed with this information, and a fortuitous lottery win, you now have a comprehensive run down of the best places to really throw your money away.

You might not see much of the local culture though, as every second spent out of that hotel room is money down the drain, so do remember to bring a good book, and settle down for the long haul!

'Made in Britain' makes a comeback

 

British Exports Hit A Record High

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DGEAF.PK	19.64	0.00

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Cliff D'Arcy, 16:31, Thursday 13 October 2011

Judging by all the doom and gloom in the papers these days, you'd think British manufacturers and exporters were in terminal decline. Actually, thanks to a weaker pound, UK exporters have done rather well recently, despite the weakening global economy.
Record exports
Indeed, we learnt today that UK exports hit a record high in August, helping to trim the UK's trade deficit to a mere £1.9 billion. Total monthly exports of goods and services hit £31.4 billion (up 0.5%), while imports declined by 0.7% to £33.3 billion.
Of course, this is good news for the UK economy, because it shows the gap between what we sell overseas and what we import into Britain has narrowed. Also, stronger-than-expected exports could give a boost to economic growth in the third quarter of 2011.
'We don't make things nowadays'
There is a common misconception that -- following a painful restructuring of the UK economy during the Thatcher government of 1979 to 1990 -- the UK 'doesn't make things any more'.
In fact, we are the world's sixth-largest exporter of goods and services, according to the British Chambers of Commerce. The UK is also the world's sixth-largest economy (behind the US, China, Japan, Germany and France), so we still punch at our weight as exporters.
A dozen British brands
From the Industrial Revolution to the late 1890s, the UK was the largest economy, manufacturer and exporter in the world. We were overtaken by America around 1900 and the US held the crown as the world's largest manufacturer for 110 years until 2010. However, the US should finally be overtaken by China this year, thanks to the latter's hard-working population of 1.3 billion.
Despite the UK's decline from its Victorian majesty, 35 of the world's largest 1,000 manufacturers are British, according to the latest IndustryWeek 1000 survey.
Here are the top 12 of these world-leading British businesses, ranked by revenues:

2011 Rank	Company	Industry	Revenues ($b)
57	Unilever	Food	59.2
88	GlaxoSmithKline	Pharmaceuticals	44.7
90	Imperial Tobacco	Tobacco	44.0
119	AstraZeneca	Pharmaceuticals	34.1
123	BAE Systems	Aerospace & Defence	33.2
167	British American Tobacco	Tobacco	23.6
191	Wolseley	Machinery	20.6
229	Rolls-Royce	Aerospace & Defence	17.5
240	BG Group	Oil and gas	16.4
251	Associated British Foods	Food	15.9
251	Diageo	Food	15.9
251	Reckitt Benckiser	Food	15.9

As you can see, the UK has four top food firms (Unilever, ABF, Diageo and Reckitt Benckiser), two world-class pharmaceutical firms (GSK and AstraZeneca), two leading defence businesses (BAE and Rolls Royce) and two large tobacco companies.
Furthermore, lower down the list lies a host of widely admired British engineering firms, including GKN , Smiths Group and Cookson.
What Britain does best
In its Great Britain campaign launched on 21 September, the government listed these 10 areas for Britain to be proud of:
1. Countryside
2. Creativity
3. Entrepreneurs
4. Green
5. Heritage
6. Innovation
7. Knowledge
8. Music
9. Shopping
10. Sport
Perhaps we should add five key industries to this list: pharmaceuticals and biotech, defence and aviation, food and drink, communications -- Vodafone has 382 million customers worldwide -- and oil and energy expertise.
Lastly, the City of London ranks alongside Wall Street as a core hub of the financial world, while our entertainers and musicians are widely acclaimed globally. Also, don't forget the booming sales of Scotch whisky overseas!
In short, despite our ailing economy and austerity measures, Britain still has much to be proud of!